NCIS - secrets from the past
by Bonasena
Summary: doing a case Gibbs meets up with an old friend from Stillwater. memories of old times bring out som unexpected feelings for Jack and it creates some tension between Jack and Gibbs, especially when the case takes an unexpected turn. ENJOY
1. a quiet night

**note: I got a request a while ago about written a story about Jack being jealous. This is my take on it. so I hope, the person who requested it, and everyone else will enjoy it. I am almost done writing it. so here is the first chapter. As always: enjoy and please let me know what you think.**

**Gibbs house**

It is late in the evening. Sloane is standing in Gibbs's living room, looking out the window. The snow is falling on the street. She can see how the snowflakes a flying around in the win under the streetlight. It is peaceful and quiet. No people on the street, just a few parked cars. Jack is hugging herself with a blanket to try and stay warm. The fireplace is nicely going and all she can hear is the sound of the sparks from the fire. Jack is pulled back to reality when she feels a kiss on her neck and arms wrapped around her from behind. She leans into the warmth of his body. She had gotten cold when she was on a stakeout earlier today. The case had ended well but Sloane has had trouble getting warmed up again since they got back. Gibbs wraps his arms around her from behind and he has a cup of steamy hot creamy coffee in his hand. She runs her hand over his and smoothly and in a flirty move takes the cup from him and takes a sip.

"you are still cold?" he asks and kisses her again on the neck. It makes her smile and leans into the kiss to extend the contact.

"it's getting better." She says. He rests his chin on her shoulder and she leans her head against his head. She is looking out over the quiet street again enjoying the view but mostly the close contact with him. the moment is broken when his phone rings. She can tell from the look on his face and by the only sentence, he says to the caller "be right there. Send me the address." That it is a duty call. He walks away from her and starts getting ready to leave. "dead navy commander. Shot dead in his home doing a home invasion. Wife and daughter were sleeping in the house." he informs her as he puts on his suit. Jack starts to get ready too. Gibbs stops to look at her when she takes off the blanket and places the coffee cup on the table.

"you don't want to stay?" he asks.

"no, I'm coming too." She says. Gibbs looks confused at her. "There was a child at the scene. That is my department, Gibbs."

Gibbs accepts with a nod and they get ready for the case.

**Crime scene**

Gibbs pulls up in front of a nice little suburban house with a nice front porch and a front yard with some toys. It is clearly a typical American family who lives here. Gibbs and Jack get out of the car and are immediately meet by McGee, Torres, and Tim. It doesn't go unnoticed by Nick that Jack and Gibbs arrive in the same car. He has a big grin on his face but Gibbs clearly ignores it. Jack is trying hard to ignore it but it doesn't bother her a bit.

"boss commander Kauffman shot dead in his living room by what it seems like a home invasion went wrong. There are signs of struggle in the living room. It was the 6-year-old daughter who called 911."

"where was the mother?" Jack asks confused about why a child and not the mother called 911.

"well, the thing is. The mother doesn't speak. So we don't have her statement yet." Nick says and looks back at a blonde woman and a little girl sitting at the end of an ambulance.

"It isn't that she can't talk. She can't hear." Gibbs says eyes straight on the blonde woman, who seems to be about the same age as Gibbs. Gibbs walks over to her. the young agents just observe. Gibbs starts speaking sign language to the woman. to the big surprise of Mcgee, Torres, Bishop, and Jack the woman once Gibbs is at the ambulance the woman stands up and hugs him tight and it seems like Gibbs is hugging her too.

"Gibbs knows the victim's wife?" Bishop asks surprised. The 3 agents of team Gibbs look surprised at Jack.

"I didn't know. I don't know who she is." Jack says in defense and throws her hands up in defense. "McGee you are the senior filed agent. You take charge. I am going to figure out how Gibbs knows her." Jack says and slowly approaches Gibbs who seems to have a friendly conversation with the woman. Jack walks over and puts a hand on Gibbs's shoulder to alert him to her presence.

"Hey, Jack." He says and stands up. He looks at the woman while he signs and speaks out loud at the same time. "Tess this is my colleague Special Agent Jack Sloane." He introduces to the blonde woman and then turns to Jack. "Jack this is my friend attorney Tess Kauffman." Gibbs introduces. Jack just waves with her hand and smiles at the blonde Woman, Tess in the ambulance. Jack doesn't seem to know how to communicate with Tess. Then Gibbs turns to the young girl sitting next to her mom in the ambulance. "and this is Pam. Tess' daughter."

"hi." The young girl says loud and clear. "do you speak sign?" the young girl asks both verbally and with signs.

"no sorry," Jack says with an apologetic smile.

"It is alright. I do and my mom does. I can teach you." the little girl offers with a smile.

"that sounds like a great idea. Pam…" Gibbs says and kneels down in front of the little girl. "how about… you answer a few questions from my friend Jack here and then you get to teach her some sign?" Gibbs looks up at Jack for confirmation.

"Okay…" the little girl says eagerly. The little girl turns to speak with her mom in sign. Jack and Gibbs just observe. Gibbs understands that Tess tells Pam to be good and listen to what the police tell her, and the little girl agrees. Then the little girl Pam gets up from the ambulance and walks away with Jack while Gibbs turns back to Tess and starts questioning her in sign language.

"did you see what happened?" Gibbs signs

"no…" Tess shakes her head resignedly. "I was asleep. I felt my husband wasn't in bed. I got up and I felt the vibration in the floor when the gun went off. Then I went into the Livingroom and I saw my husband dead on the floor. The front door was open, and I saw Pam standing in the Livingroom crying. She told me she heard sounds from the Livingroom and went in there to see what was happening. She told me she saw her dad fighting with a man."

"We are going to find whoever did this to your husband Tess," Gibbs says and kneels down in front of her and touches her hands reassuring. Tess then looks over behind Gibbs which makes Gibbs look too. Pam is sitting in the back seat of Gibbs's car with her legs out the door. Jack is standing in front of her. Pam is smiling and it seems like Jack is trying to imitate some signs that Pam is trying to teach her. Gibbs takes it as a good sign that the little girl is smiling. Jack looks back at Gibbs. Gibbs smiles at her at first, she is smiling but then Gibbs notices her smiles changes, but he isn't sure why.


	2. a suspect

**The conference room**

Gibbs is back at the office and he is in the conference room with Tess Kauffman. They are communicating in sign. The door is left open, while they are waiting for Jack, who is taking Pam to the bathroom.

"How is your brother?" Gibbs asks her in sign. "I haven't spoken to him for many years."

"he is fine." She responds. "he lives in Houston Texas now."

"Is he married?" Gibbs asks.

"no. are you?" she asks. Gibbs suddenly looks away and smiles.

"I was… 3 times." She looks shocked at him and then they both start laughing.

"What happened to that girl from Stillwater… Shannon right?" She asks. Gibbs nods. Tess notices the much more serious look on his face.

"she was murdered…." Gibbs says and looks away. He gets choked up when he talks about Shannon. She leans her hand on his for a moment.

"I'm sorry…" she says and looks straight into his eyes. Jack and Pam enter the room and Jack notice how Gibbs and Tess are staring into each other's eyes and she especially notices the compassionate expression in Tess's eyes. Pam walks over and sits next to her mom. Tess removes her hands from Gibbs and Gibbs looks away for a moment to compose his emotions. He doesn't like to be emotional about Shannon at work.

"Gibbs…" Jack says. she is still standing in the doorway. Gibbs looks up at her. "you got a minute?" she asks.

"sure." He stands up and then turns to Tess and Pam. He signs to them. "can I get you anything to drink?". Tess responds that she would like a cup of coffee and Pam would like a cup of hot chocolate. Gibbs promises to be back with that and then leaves the conference room with Jack. He stops just a few steps away from the conference.

"what's up, Jack?" he asks.

"my office." She says in a serious tone and walks to her office and expects Gibbs to follow her. Gibbs is confused but follows her demand. He walks into her office and she closes the door behind him when he doesn't do it.

"do you have a conflict of interest in this case?" Jack asks with her arms crossed over her chest. Her body language indicates some signs of discontent. Gibbs looks at her with a confused smile.

"what do you mean, Jack?" he asks. By using her nickname, he is trying to ease up the tension that he senses.

"come on Gibbs… you know this woman. clearly, you two know each other quite well… I just don't want you to compromise yourself in this case."

Gibbs starts laughing.

"relax Jack. I'll be fine." Gibbs is about to leave the office.

"how do you know her?" Jack asks to make Gibbs not leave the office. Gibbs stops and looks at her wondering what intentions she has with that question.

"how I know her?" he asks for clarification. Jack realize her question could sound like jealousy. "she is an old friend, Jack. Nothing to worry about." He sends her a reassuring smile. At the same time, he gets a text from Kasie.

"got to go. Kasie got something." He leans in and places a reassuring kiss on her cheek before he quickly leaves her office. Jack is not satisfied with that answer. She feels like there is more to their story then he is telling her.

**The bullpen**

Jack leaves her office and walks down the hallway to the stairs leading down to the bullpen. As she is at the top of the stairs, she sees McGee and Torres sitting at their desks in the bullpen, but Gibbs isn't there. She looks over at the elevator where she sees Gibbs is standing and signing with Tess Kauffmann. Gibbs is smiling and laughing as he signs to Tess. Jack notices how close they are standing to each other and how they seem to have a very friendly conversation. Jack walks down the stairs to the bullpen. She enters the bullpen as Pam and Bishop walk around the corner of the stairs. "hi Miss Jack." Pam says out loud but also signs with her hands. Jack looks at Pam and smiles. "hi Pam." Jack says and tries to use the sign that Pam taught her earlier. The little girl giggles and corrects Jack's sign.

"you are learning sign, Jack?" Bishop asks impressed.

"I'm trying. I have a good teacher." Jack says looking down at Pam with a smile. "I'm just not so sure I'm a good student."

Jack and Bishop exchange some information while Pam seems to be observing her mom talking with Gibbs.

"what are they talking about?" Pam asks out loud. Jack and Bishop stop talking and look over at Gibbs and Tess Kaufmann."

"We don't know. We don't speak sign." Jack says.

The young girl looks wondering and then she starts speaking out loud. "so, she is scared of thunder too? Too? Yeah, you were terrified of thunder when we where teenagers, remember. Who says it was the thunder I didn't like? You wanted to watch that movie. Yeah... Why? If you were scared of it." Jack and Bishop are observing Gibbs and Tess while the little girl is monologuing what they are saying. "oh, come on, Tess… pretending to be scared to snuggle… That is the oldest trick in the book." Pam says out loud. Jack and Bishop look confused at her and then at Gibbs and Tess Kaufmann.

"Is she interpreting what they are saying?" Bishop asks Jack confused and impressed at the same time.

"Yeah, I am.i do that sometimes with mommy and Daddy. It is fun to do." The little girl giggles and it makes Jack and Bishop laugh too. "It is kind of a weird conversation thought…. My mom is not scared of thunder." Pam says and looks up at Jack confused. "why would my mommy pretend to be scared? She always snuggles with me and my daddy." Pam says and then she suddenly looks down sad. "we used to snuggle with daddy." Jack kneels next to the little girl and rubs her hand on the little girls back. Pam takes Jack's hand and they walk over to Gibbs and Tess.

"hey, Pammy." Tess signs. The little girl looks up at Gibbs.

"are you going to find the man who hurt my daddy?" she asks both in sign and out loud.

"I promise you…" Gib says in sign and out loud as he kneels down to be the same height as the girl. "that I together with agents Sloane and the rest of my teams is going to find the person who hurt you dad and put him in prison."

"did it help what I told miss Jack?" Pam asks a little uncertain.

"you did a really great job," Jack says reassuring to the little girl and places a hand on her shoulder.

"what about the drawing I made with miss Ellie?" she asks. Jack hands Gibbs the sketch that she was just handed by Bishop. It is very detailed.

"This is great. We are going to find the person who did this." Gibbs promises her. Pam walks over and takes her mom's hand. Gibbs presses the elevator button for them.

"thank you." Tess signs. Gibbs responds with a simple "you are welcome." Tess reaches over and gently touches his face. they share a gaze. It is broken when the elevator arrives and Tess and Pam steps into the elevator and Gibs presses the button for them. When the elevator doors have closed Gibbs notice how Jack is staring at him with a furious look. "what?" he asks.

"hey, boss…" McGee is poking his head up over the small walls around the bullpen just as Jack is about to say something. "we got a hit on the sketch and I just pinged his phone. We got a location."

"let's go, McGee," Gibbs says and immediately McGee, Torres, and Bishop are at the elevator ready to leave with Gibbs. Jack steps aside so they can enter the elevator and go and bring the suspect in for questioning.


	3. Conflict

**Jacks office**

Gibbs knocks on Jack's door. He doesn't wait for an answer before he enters. There is no one in the office but he notices a file on her desk with the name Kauffman on it. He takes the liberty to open it since it is obviously related to his ongoing case, but what he finds doesn't please him. He gets furious when he sees it is a background check on Tess Kauffman and him. It seems like Jack has been digging up information about his past and everything she could find about him and Tess from when they both lived in Stillwater until he joined the Marines and married Shannon. He throws the file back on the desk and is about to leave when Jack enters her office.

"Gibbs… hey…" she says surprised to see him in her office. "I thought you were still in interrogation."

"I finished. I came to talk to you," he says. he is intensely trying to hide his anger over his recent discovery of her investigating his past.

"what do you want to talk about?" she asks puts on a smile that Gibbs immediately recognizes at a cover for hiding something.

"I need to cancel our plans tonight, Jack," Gibbs says after he has taken a moment to choose his words wisely to not make her upset.

She nods understandable but Gibbs notices that she seems upset.

"why?"

"something came up." He explains nonchalantly. "something I need to take care of. It can't wait. Raincheck, tomorrow?"

"something about the case?" Jack asks. She is trying to hide she is upset. Gibbs isn't sure whether she is upset about the canceled plans or something else. Gibbs is getting tired of the hiding and burst out. "what are you up to, Jack?" he asks. She seems to be absolutely clueless about what he is referring to. He grabs the file from her desk.

"you are looking in my files now?" she asks a bit irritated.

"you have been investigating me. If there is something you want to know about me, then all you got to do is ask."

"I did. And you weren't exactly forthcoming with information. And… as you said when you investigated me about my daughter… if you don't tell me anything then I got to dig up the relevant information to the case myself. I wish you would have told me though."

"I told you what was relevant. I know her. She is an old friend. That is all that is relevant to the case."

"so you don't think it is relevant that you got into multiple altercations as a teenager and that the suspect whose gun was used in the murder works with one of the boys, from Stillwater, you got into most fights with over Tess Kauffman."

"it wasn't fights 'over' her. They were bulling her due to her handicap and I stood up for my friend. I don't see anything wrong with that."

"she was your high school prom date," Jack argues.

"Yeah. She was because her piece of scum boyfriend dumped her the day before prom. So, I took her to prom… as a friend."

"Gibbs…" Jack runs her hands through her hair before she continues speaking. "I can't believe you. you really can't see the problem that you are this close to the victim's wife and that you have a history with the suspect too."

"history? Come on Sloane… yeah, I beat the crap out of some guy, our suspect worked with 40 years ago. I'm sure he got over it."

"Gibbs… please. Remove yourself from the case. You are too close to the case." Jack pleads. She leans against her desk. she looks at him with pleading eyes, but he looks furious at her.

"I'll decide when I am too close to a case, Sloane."

"you obviously still have feelings for her."

Gibbs stops as he is about to protest to understand what she just said to him.

"What? No… I don't have feelings for her and I am not recusing myself from the case. Report me to Vance if you have a problem." Gibbs just shakes his head, drops the file on her desk and leaves her office. Jack drops down in her chair. She was really hoping this would have gone better.


	4. Bad News

**WARNING: major character injured. please don't read if you don't want to read about a major character injured. no death. only injury and mention of violence.**

**Gibbs house**

Jack arrives at Gibbs's house. The house is dark, not even light in the basement and his truck isn't there either. She locks her car behind her and walks inside. She is going to wait for him. she needs to clear the air between them. She hates arguing with Gibbs like that. Especially because she knows she made a complete fool of her self by looking obviously jealous. Not exactly one of her finer moments. She sits down on the couch in the darkness. She is just going to stay awake until he comes home so they can talk. She hates when they are arguing like that, especially over something personal. Professional disagreements… she has no problem with that, but she hates personal arguments. They always turn ugly so quickly and they often stay for a lot longer than necessary.

Jack is woken up by the sound of her phone ringing. It is McGee's caller-ID on her screen. She notices the time. It is 2.34 am.

"McGee.. what is going on?" Jack asks sleepy and sits up to wake her self up faster.

"Jack. Where are you?" McGee sounds panicked and terrified. Jack looks around in the dark living room. She is at Gibbs's house. "Gibbs has been shot," McGee says not waiting for her to answer his previous question. The moment he says those words it is like her heart stops beating. Her whole world stops. She cant breath she can't think. All she can do is say: "What? When? Where?" Jack stands up to leave the house right away.

"at a hotel downtown. He was shot in the chest and in the shoulder. He is in the hospital now. He is in surgery. I am at the crime scene with Torres and Bishop."

"what do you need me to do?" Jack asks as she leaves the house and gets into her car.

"go to the hospital. Stay with Gibbs. Keep me updated." McGee orders.

"you do the same," Jack says and then hangs up.


	5. unexpected

**Autopsy**

McGee comes into autopsy in a rush. Both Palmer and Ducky are there.

"what do you got Palmer?" McGee asks in a true Gibbs style.

"how is Jethro?" Ducky asks concerns and that snaps McGee out of professional investigator mode and into being a concerned friend.

"he is in surgery. Jack is at the hospital with him. keeping me updated." McGee informs them. He is clearly affected too and he is trying to stay focused on the case.

"what do you got Jimmy?" McGee asks and Jimmy focuses now on the dead body too.

"our john doe died of a perfect gunshot to the heart. I mean… it was with half an inch of precision. Death was instantaneous. I think it is safe to say that the Cause of death was… death by Gibbs." Jimmy says and Ducky has a cautious smile on his lips.

"so Jethro got one shot in," Ducky says as Jimmy's hands an evidence jaw with the bullet from the john doe.

"then who shot Gibbs?" Jimmy asks.

"that is a good question," McGee says wondering while looking at the dead man on the table.

"well, I can tell you that John doe had Gunshot residue on his hand. So he did fire a gun. I send test samples up to Kasie she is analyzing them as we speak.

"Thanks, Jimmy," McGee says and then leaves the autopsy room.

**Kasie's lab**

McGee comes into Kasie's lab. She is busy processing the evidence from the shooting including john does and Gibbs clothing.

"any news on Gibbs?" Kasie asks concerned.

"nothing new yet. Do you have any evidence on who shot Gibbs?"

"I can tell you he was shot with the weapon found near John Doe's body. He had gun residue on his hand and so did Gibbs. No surprise there. The bullet that killed John doe was…"

"fired by Gibbs. Yeah, I know. He was killed with sniper precision." McGee says.

"kind of scary," Kasie adds before she continues with her evidence presentation.

"I also found something else…" she says and walks over to the table where the evidence is placed out. "and just to point out… I really don't feel comfortable with going through Gibbs stuff… I feel like I am invading his privacy."

"I understand Kasie. Neither do i. but Gibbs also knows that it is necessary for us to do it to catch whoever did this."

Kasie nods and then takes out a jewelry box from an evidence bag.

"I found this inside Gibbs's jacket pocket." McGee looks curious at it. It wasn't exactly what he was expecting.

"I also found the recipe for it. Gibbs picked it up at the store less than 30 minutes before he was shot."

McGee opens the box. It is a neckless. It is a flat silver heart with 2 hearts connected engraved on the front of the heart and the back has some sort of engraving too, but it is scratched. So, the letters aren't readable anymore.

"it seems like it has some scratches." McGee points out.

"yes… it saved Gibbs's life. The bullet ricocheted off the box and got embedded into Gibbs's ribs. it hit his lung and ends in his ribs, but nonfatal. It didn't puncture his lung which it would have it he hadn't been carrying this jewelry box inside his pocket." Kasie says.

"wow. Lucky."

"Yeah. Whoever this jewelry is for, saved Gibbs's life."

"Yeah. Question is: who is the neckless for?" McGee asks. "do you think you can get the engraving on the back to be readable. It seems like it is some sort of letters of numbers." Kasie nods.

"yeah sure. I can try. do you know if the boss has a girlfriend?" Kasie asks. She doesn't really feel comfortable asking the question but if it had been any other victim, she would have asked the question because it is a reasonable question.

"well…" McGee has a little smile on his lips. "we have sort of been joking about Gibbs and Jack having a thing, but I don't think it is buying jewelry for her kind of serious."

"Gibbs and Jack?" Kasie says surprised and then laughs "go, Gibbs." That makes McGee chuckle too.

"Now is not the time for office gossip. I don't know if they are a thing or not and quite frankly, I don't care. If they are it is great. I am happy for them. If not… it is fine. Let's focus on the case." McGee says in a superior tone and Kasie nods in understanding.

"ID John Doe is priority nr. 1," McGee says before he leaves the lab.

**Conference room**

Ellie is walking down the hallway along with Tess and her daughter Pam. They are going to the conference room. Ellie notices the door to Jack's office is open. She peeks in there as they walk by and sees that Jack is in there. Ellie thought Jack was still at the hospital. Ellie doesn't have time, even though she wishes she did, to be there for Jack. Ellie knows Gibbs and Jack are close. Ellie walks into the conference room and sits down across from Tess and her daughter Pam.

"Mrs. Kaufman, can you tell me why NCIS Special Agent Gibbs was at your hotel tonight?" Ellie asks.

Mrs. Kaufman signs and the NCIS assigned interpreter interprets for Ellie.

"Pam and I were on our way back to the hotel from having dinner when we meet Gibbs on the street. He was walking towards his car. He offered to drive us back to the hotel, even though it was only 2 blocks away. When we got back to the hotel he walked us up to the room. He kept looking back, in the rearview mirror and when we got to the hotel he kept looking over his shoulder and around him."

"where you being followed or was he?" Ellie asks.

"I don't know. I mean considering what happened, probably, but… I didn't know that."

"you didn't see anyone following you?"

"no. not until I heard the gunshots behind me while I was finding the keycard in my purse."

Ellie nods and takes notes.

"how many gunshots did you hear?" Ellie asks.

"3. I'm pretty sure it was 3," Tess says but still doesn't seem 100% sure.

"it was 3." Her daughter Pam says. "I saw it. the man shot 1 time that hit Mr. Gibbs in his shoulder. And then the man shot one more time after Mr. Gibbs was laying on the ground. Then the man pointed the gun at my mom, but before he fired the gun Mr. Gibbs shot him right in the heart and he fell to the ground and then Mr. Gibbs dropped his gun. He was bleeding." Pam explains. Ellie is impressed with the young girl's memory of the events.

"that is really great Pam," Ellie says with a smile.

"did any of you recognize the man who shot Special Agent Gibbs?"

Ellie asks and places a photo of the dead shooter on the table in front of Mrs. Kaufmann and her daughter.

"no," Pam says quickly.

"I don't know. He does look somewhat familiar, but I can't place him anywhere." Tess explains. She seems troubled about not being able to remember where she has seen the man before.

Bishop collects her paperwork and stands up.

"Please let me know if you remember where you have seen him before," Ellie says and hands Tess her card. Tess nods. Ellie leaves the conference room and walks by Jack's office. Jack isn't in there so Ellie walks down to the bullpen she has work to do. She needs to figure out what Gibbs was doing in that part of DC late at night and they also need to identify the shooter.


	6. the necklace

**note: Thanks for all the amazing comments I have gotten so fr. keep them coming I really enjoy reading your opinions. enjoy**

**Kasie's lab**

Gibbs has been in the hospital for nearly 6 hours now. There is still no news from the hospital. The bullet caused a lot more damage on Gibbs then they first thought. Jack had decided to leave the hospital and asked the doctor to call her when Gibbs got out of surgery. Jack had come back to the office, but she had been restless so she had decided to go down to Kasie's lab to see if there was anything she could help with.

"I still haven't found anything useful on this necklace. I contacted the store where the recipe is from. The owner told me that Gibbs had brought this necklace in a few days ago to get it cleaned up and restore the inscription on the back." Kasie explains.

"what does the inscription say?" Ellie asks.

"just a bunch of numbers and 2 letters. J.S. 04.12.1945" Kasie explains.

"could be a date. But in 1945. Why would Gibbs have a necklace from 1945 restored and for what? Or who?" Ellie asks.

Jack walks into Kasie's lab. Kasie is in the middle of presenting her resent findings to Ellie and McGee when Jack enters. Jack walks over to the table with the evidence spread out and immediately notices the necklace

"hey Jack." Kasie greets.

"any news on Gibbs?" Ellie asks.

"no…" Jack says distractedly as she is just starring at the necklace on the table. "still in surgery." Jack adds when she looks up and notices they are staring at her.

"what?" she asks.

"nothing," Kasie says and then looks over at McGee who shakes his head discreetly to tell her to let it go.

"where did you find this?" Jack asks and points to the necklace in the evidence bag on the table. Kasie looks over at McGee for permission to answer Jack's question. McGee gives her a nod to go ahead.

"I found it in Gibbs's jacket pocket," Kasie informs.

"that is odd," Jack says.

"what Jack? You have seen it before?" McGee asks.

"Yeah… last week."

"where?" Bishop asks.

"at an antic store. Gibbs and I went to speak with the grandmother to a deceased petty officer. It was lying in a glass display near the counter. "

"was it relevant to the case of the dead petty officer?" Bishop asks confused when Jack doesn't continue.

"no," Jack says distant and lift the evidence bag with the necklace up and looks at the back of the necklace. Her eyes suddenly widen. She places the necklace quickly on the table again and nearly storms out of the lab. The 2 agents and Kasie look confused after her.

"what did just happen?" Kasie asks surprised.

"I think she knows more about this necklace then she is telling us," Bishop says.

"what else can you tell us about the necklace? Is it valuable? Potential motive? Fake? Real?" McGee asks.

"well, I can tell you I can date it back to about 1945. It is real silver, which explains why it might have needed a fresh up when Gibbs brought it. but other than that. No, it is not worth more than a maximum of maybe 50 dollars."

"could be a motive if the shooter didn't know the real value," Ellie says.

"yeah maybe," McGee says.

"can you print a photo of the front and back of the necklace, Kasie?" Before McGee is done asking the question Kasie hands him a photo of each side of the necklace.

"Thanks, Kasie. Nice work." McGee says and he leaves the lab.

**Jacks office**

Jack ran out of the lab and back to her office. She is even more confused now then she was earlier. She saw that necklace last week in the antic shop. Gibbs had noticed how she had looked at it and when they had a beer in his basement later that night, she had told him about why she was looking at it. Now she can't wrap her head around why it would be in his jacket pocket. Jack is sitting in her chair behind her door. that has become her favorite hiding spot when she is too much in her head to speak with anyone. It is usually only Leon and Gibbs who finds her there and can get her out of her head. It knocks on the door. she doesn't answer, hoping the person, whoever it is, will just think she is not here and walk away. That doesn't happen. The door is opened, and McGee comes in. he walks to her desk and writes a note and then turns around to leave. That is when he sees her. sitting curled up in her chair.

"Hey, Jack." McGee says with a smile. "are you hiding from me?" he asks.

"That obvious?" Jack asks and places her feet down on the ground. McGee nods." yeah." McGee grabs a chair and sits down across from her. he has two photos in his hand.

"you know more about this necklace then you are telling me, Jack." McGee starts. He doesn't sound judgmental or irritated with her, but sweeter and understanding. Jack nods.

"I don't know McGee..." Jack says and reaches out to get the photos and McGee hands them to her.

"the necklace I saw at the antic shop didn't have this inscription on the back."

"it was nearly invisible to the naked eye before it was cleaned and polished." McGee explains. "it was probably why Gibbs was at the jewelry store. To get it cleaned."

"I told Gibbs a story about a memory I have from when I was a kid." Jack admits. "about this necklace. Or at least a similar one."

"would you mind telling me?" McGee asks with a sweet smile. "I know I'm not Gibbs and you and I are not as close as you and Gibbs, but it might help me understand what Gibbs was up to before he got shot."

"a necklace … similar to this one. My grandmother had one when I was a kid. my grandmother was a nurse in the army. Both her and my grandfather served. They where both deployed in Germany in 1945. My grandfather gave my Grandmother a necklace like this one, right before they got deployed. As a promise of marriage when they got back to the states."

"that is really sweet," McGee says.

"Yeah. When I was a kid, I would sit on my Grandmother's lap and I would hold on to her necklace and she would tell me a story about a little girl that my grandfather carried into the infirmary. She had lost both her parents in the holocaust. She was the sole survivor of her family. When my grandmother treated her the little girl would hold on to my grandmother's necklace and say, Mutter, which means mother in German. After the war the little girl immigrated to America and right before my grandmother died, she gave this necklace to the girl."

"do you know what the girl's name was?" McGee asks.

"yeah." Jack gets up from her chair and walks over to her desk.

"it was Angela. No last name." Jack says as she is looking at her computer.

"Angela is the name of the women who own the antic store. It is her grandson Jackson who runs the store now. She immigrated from Germany to the states in 1947. She has lived in the DC area ever since." McGee says looking at the little research he did on the store owner before he came up to see Jack. McGee stands up.

"Jack this is most like your Grandmother's necklace. The necklace you remember from when you were a kid. that is why Gibbs had it in his pocket. He probably got it for you."

"Yeah, but how did Gibbs know this is my grandmother's necklace?"

"how? He is more trained and a more skilled investigator then I am, and I could find it." McGee says with a knowing look. Jack nods. she knows he is right.

"McGee… could you keep this between us." Jack says. "I don't need any office gossip about this."

"of cause. Jack. This stays between us." McGee says with a smile. "and thanks for trusting me on this. I know I'm not Gibbs."

"you are doing an amazing job, McGee. Gibbs will be proud of you. he is proud of you."

"yeah…" McGee says a little uncertain. He always wants to live up to Gibbs's expectations and his biggest fear is to fail Gibbs. Hearing from Jack that Gibbs is proud of him, means a lot more then he thought it would.

"Thanks, Jack," McGee says and leaves the office.


	7. A generally good guy

**Jacks office**

Jack walks down the hall to her office. She isn't paying much attention to her surroundings. Her mind keeps wandering back to when she got the phone call from McGee saying that Gibbs had been shot. When she had gotten to the hospital she had been told where he was found. Now her head kept wondering why Gibbs would cancel his plans with her to go to the hotel where Tess Kaufmann stayed. Gibbs had insisted that nothing was going on between him and Tess, but Jack was still not convinced and now that he had been shot right outside her hotel room, she definitely had difficulties understanding what was going on. That confusion combined with the information about the necklace didn't make it easier for Jack to wrap her head around. now all Jack can do is hope for Gibbs to be out of surgery and wake up soon. She has so many things she wants to ask him about. Jack is staring at her phone as she is walking down the hall to her office. Every second she is hoping for the doctors to ring and tell her Gibbs is out of surgery. As she reaches her door she bumps into someone. When she looks up she sees Tess Kaufmann. Probably the last person Jack would want to see or talk to right now.

"can I speak with you?" Tess asks out loud. She has trouble speaking but her voice is understandable. Jack nods politely overthought she doesn't really want to talk to Tess. They walk into Jack's office and Jack closes the door. she waits for Tess to speak.

"I know you don't like me." Tess starts.

"jack looks confused at her. "what do you mean? You are a victim of a crime. My personal opinion about your person is irrelevant for the case." Jack states.

"I am an old friend of Gibbs." Jack nods. "we were friends in high school."

"I knew that."

"We were never dating. He was never my boyfriend. He was friends with my brother. He always looked out for me, when other kids were rough on me because of my… handicap. Jethro always looked out for me. he even got into quite a few fights for me."

"a guy getting into fights for a girl sounds like more than just looking out for her." Jack points out.

"how long have you known Jethro?" Tess asks.

"few years. We work together."

"you two are more than just colleagues?"

"We are friends. Yes. Nothing more than that." Jack points out persistent. She didn't realize it until she heard herself say it out loud how much it hurts to say those words out laud. They are just friends. Nothing more than that. If they were… Gibbs wouldn't have told her to report him to Vance. And Jack probably wouldn't have criticized Gibbs's professional judgment. People who are more than friends wouldn't do that.

"then you should know that he is just a generally good guy who looks out for his friends despite their gender and... that he cares way more about you then he does about me." Jack looks confused at her about the last comment. Tess walks to the door but before she leaves, she turns around to look at Jack.

"the way he looks at you. Says everything." Tess says with a smile and then leaves the office. Jack is left alone. She is confused. It seems like Gibbs brought her a necklace that she told him about reminded her of her grandmother, but at the same time, he also got angry with her and even told her to report him to Vance. She questioned his professional judgment and asked him to remove himself from the case. Jack is confused She can't wrap her head around what they are. Jack knows Tess is right about one thing. Gibbs is a generally good guy. Jack noticed that from the very first moment she met him. He cares about others and is willing to put himself in danger to protect others. It is no surprise that he would do anything to protect his high school friend. What Jack can't get out of her head is why Gibbs would cancel his plans with Jack to go totes Kauffman's hotel room. She really doesn't want to think about it but for some strange reason, her mind keeps bringing up really uncomfortable images in her head. Jack wants to believe that Gibbs wouldn't cheat on her, but it isn't really cheating if they are not really together.

Jack walks over to her desk and sits down. She leans back in her chair and looks up at the wall behind her chair where the painting of the elephant Gibbs gave her is hanging. "Gibbs is just a generally good guy who looks out for his friends." That was what Tess said. Jack gets an idea. She needs to take a deeper look into young Jethro Gibbs high school time. Maybe the key is somewhere there. She will need to explain to Gibbs when he wakes up at the hospital, but right now, if Gibbs was here, he would tell her to focus on solving the case, whatever it takes. Just like Gibbs would do…


	8. Secrets from the past

**Kasie Lab**

Jack walks into Kasie's lab quickly.

"Kasie. Have you identified the shooter yet?"

Kasie is just about to answer her unexpected visitor's question when the computer bips with a result.

"I scanned the john does fingerprints, and I just got a hit. John Doe's name is. Jimmy Boyd."

"born and raised in Stillwater. Went to Stillwater high school?" Jack asks. Kasie look impressed at Jack.

"Yeah, how would you know?"

"he was Tess Kaufmann's boyfriend in high school. And according to Gibbs, he dumped her the day before prom and Tess ended up going to prom with our very own Gibbs."

"wow. Gibbs in high school?" Kasie says and looks wonderous into space. "I can't imagine that."

"well according to what I could dig up… Gibbs and Boyd got into quite a few fights over the last 2 years of their high school." Jack has an old picture in her hand.

"This is Jimmy Boyd at the high school prom. He was the quarterback of the football team. He was dating Tess Kaufmann and he was a bully." Jack says.

"Yeah, but why does he have a busted nose, split lip, and a bruised eye?" Kasie asks looking at the photo.

"well from what I could dig up he got into a fight on the street a week before prom."

"a street fight?" Kasie asks in disbelieve.

"yeh. I don't buy it either." Jack says. at the same moment, Ducky and McGee walk into the lab.

"Jack any news on Gibbs?" Ducky asks.

"no nothing yet." Jack says. "ducky would you be able to tell based on a photo approximately how old bruises on a face are?" Jack asks.

"yeah perhaps," Ducky says. Jack hands Ducky the photo.

"and who am I looking at here?"

"that is Jimmy Boyd, our shooter, who shot Gibbs. He was also Tess Kaufmann's high school boyfriend and used Gibbs regularly as a punching bag in high school." Jack explains.

"used Gibbs as a punching bag?" Kasie asks. "Gibbs would punch back," Kasie says.

"well according to Jackson Gibbs, Gibbs's late father, Gibbs was a quiet kid who often stood up for his friends and got into quite a few fights until he met Shannon and joined the Marines. Then he changed." McGee explains.

"well…" Ducky says after a closer examination of the photo. "I can't say it with 100% accuracy, but I would say that these bruises are no more than a day or 2 old when this photo was taken. There are no signs of healing around the split lip. The bruising around the eye is still fresh. It still seems swollen and it is still very dark in color which indicates the bruise as been sustained within no more than a few days."

"he claimed he got it a week prior to the picture being taken. But according to the information I could dig up there was a fight in the boys' gym locker room the day before the prom." Jack says.

"let me guess. Jimmy Boyd was involved." McGee says.

Jack nods. "yes along with Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Jack says.

"what was the fight about? Kasie asks.

"well, there are very different opinions on that from the 10 boys who were in the locker at the time of the fight. According to 6 of the boys who watched the fight Gibbs just jumped at Jimmy for no reason at all. Gibbs just came at him."

"that doesn't sound like Gibbs." Ducky says. "not even young Stillwater Gibbs." McGee adds.

"What about the other boys?" Kasie asks.

"well according to Dicky Kaufmann, Tess brother, and good friend of Gibbs, they overheard Jimmy brag about how he had been cheating on Tess with every cheerleader in the school and how he had asked the hottest cheerleader to prom. Which is consistent with what Gibbs told me yesterday about he took Tess to the prom because her boyfriend dumped her the day before."

"What a dick," Kasie says and everyone is looking at her and she then realizes that it wasn't exactly an appropriate comment.

"Sorry about that. He just sounds really awful." Kasie explains apolitically. Everyone nods in agreement.

"yeah he does," Jack says.

"It just doesn't explain why he would shoot Gibbs 40 years later in a hotel in DC," McGee says puzzled about the motive.

"well, I matched the guy's fingerprints to the first crime scene too. This guy didn't just shoot Gibbs he shot commander Kauffman too." Kasie says and shows them her results on the screen.

"but what is the motive?" McGee asks.

"Gibbs most likely busted up this guy's face right before high school prom." Jack says and shows them the picture from the prom. "this guy is a textbook example of a guy who's life peaks in high school. He got everything in high school. He was the football quarterback, he slept with every cheerleader in the school. He was officially dating the smart girl, who could do his homework for him. he got a football scholarship. He had everything. and then Gibbs comes around and busts his face up and this ends up being the picture of the top of his life. Prom king with a busted face."

"not exactly a photograph to remember proudly." Ducky states and everyone agree.

"This guy's life peaked in high school," Jack explains. "I did a little research and their high school reunion is in a few days. Jimmy Boyd send Tess Kaufmann 15 e-mails over the past few weeks asking her to go with him to the reunion." Jack explains.

"I suppose she turned him down?" Kasie asks.

Jack nods. "yes. She told him she was going with her husband, Commander Kaufmann."

"he didn't take no for an answer."

"But seriously? Do we think this guy killed a marine commander over a high school reunion and shot Gibbs over a prom photo?" McGee asks bewildered.

"People have killed for less," Kasie says and McGee must agree with that.

"This guy is not the kind of guy to take no for an answer," Jack explains.

At the same moment, Bishop and Torres walk in.

"Jack, I did a little digging into the guys you asked about." Bishop looks up and sees Jimmy's picture and name on the screen.

"you already found him, Kasie," Ellie says.

"great. Metro found his car near the hotel where Gibbs was shot. I back-traced him on traffic cams. He was following Tess and her daughter from the restaurant. Which explains why Gibbs was looking over his shoulder." Ellie explains.

"Gibbs had dinner with them?" Jack asks. Trying not to sound jealous.

"no. Gibbs was at a jewelry store 1 block from the restaurant. He saw Tess and her daughter walk down the street across from the jewelry store. Kasie can you pull off the traffic came footage I send you?" Ellie asks and Kasie finds the file.

"what was Gibbs doing in a jewelry store?" Ducky asks confused as they all step closer and watches the traffic came that show Gibbs walks out of the store and Tess and her daughter walking down the street where a dark car is slowly following them. They see Gibbs look back and notices the suspicious car and runs across the street to Tess and her daughter. He clearly, based on his body language offers them a ride and they accept. The cames shows how the dark car continues to follow them.

"that guy was Definity following them," Kasie says.

"yes, and I confirmed the license plate is registered to Jimmy Boyd, Stillwater," Nick says and shows the record to McGee.

"Great work guys. Now we just need for our fearless leader to wake up." McGee says trying to sound positive.

"but McGee," Kasie says and breaks the sad mood that has been hanging in the room, but nobody has addressed.

"I still can't figure out who the necklace was meant for," Kasie says bewildered. She hates to have unanswered questions by the end of a case. Jack notices how Nick and Ellie immediately by the mention of the necklace look at each other with an amused smile and then Nick looks over at Jack with a smug smile.

"let it go, Kasie. That is the boss's personal business." McGee says. Jack's phone rings. She quickly answers. Gets a quick message and hangs up. "Gibbs just woke up from his surgery. He is going to be okay." Jack announces and a wave of joy and excitement flushes over them all. "Kasie, give it to me," McGee says and Kasie hands McGee the jewelry box with the necklace inside and McGee leaves the lab.


	9. hospital visit

**Note: I hope you didn't think I made Gibbs to much of a high school troublemaker. I watched Heartland(s6e4) where we get a glimpse of young Gibbs and you see he got into a few fights. I like to think of Gibbs as someone who fights not just for the sake of fighting but as one who fights for a cause, like looking out for his friend. Please let me know what you think of it?**

**The hospital**

Gibbs is laying in the hospital bed. He is still a bit confused about his surroundings. He is high on a lot of painkillers and he can't picture in his head what happened. The last thing he remembers was having a fight with Jack and then go to pick up something. That he can recall what it was. It knocks on the door and McGee enters the room and closes the door after himself.

"hey, boss." McGee greets in his traditional manner.

"hey, McGee."

"How are you doing boss?"

"I'm okay. I think. What happened? I can't remember."

"you were shot, by a man named Jimmy Boyd. He was…" Tess's high school boyfriend. She told me about him. I looked into him. I remember that… I saw him, Tim."

"I know. He was following Tess Kaufmann and her daughter. He was going to shoot her, but you shot him."

"and he shot me," Gibbs adds.

"yeah he did, but you where dam lucky, boss," McGee says and takes out the jewelry box and places it on the table next to Gibbs's bed.

"This was what saved your life. If you hadn't had this in your jacket pocket, you would have been long gone by now." McGee says. Gibbs reaches up to take the box, but he is clearly in pain so McGee hands it to him. Gibbs slowly opens the box and a sideways smile comes upon his face when he looks at it. he closes the box again and hands it to McGee to put it back on the table.

"It is beautiful, boss," McGee says. "it is for Jack, isn't it?" McGee asks. Gibbs just looks over at him with a stare. He doesn't answer.

"has she seen it?" Gibbs asks.

McGee nods a little guilty. "we didn't know it was for her…"

"come on McGee," Gibbs says cutting off his apology. "I have heard you, Torres, Bishop, Jimmy, and Kasie making wits about me and Jack especially Torres to Jack about how close we are."

"okay yeah, you are right, Boss. I figured it probably had something to with her, but I wasn't sure. She told me the story from when she was a kid, that she told you too. About her grandmother."

Gibbs nods. "that necklace is really important to her ha?"

McGee asks.

"the way she looked when she first saw it. it was…" Gibbs almost seems lost in his thought, until he looks over at McGee who has a knowing smile on his face, and Gibbs is back in his tough boss mode.

"what McGee? No potential 4th ex-wife jokes or comments?" Gibbs asks and they both chuckle.

"I'm McGee, Boss. I'm not Tony or Ziva." They both laughs.

"come on McGee. I know you have been in on just as many of those jokes as DiNozzo and Ziva has."

"I was young and immature back then," McGee says and they both start laughing. "I'm a senior field agent now."

"oh, so you are enjoying being the team leader every once in a while, Tim."

McGee gets a text from Ducky but doesn't pay attention to it. Tim turns his focus back to Gibbs. He shrugs nonchalantly.

"I do. But you can have your job back. I am in no rush to become a leader."

"Good to know. But one day… you will make a great leader, Tim." Gibbs says.

"Thanks, boss," Tim says. He enjoys having these little moments with Gibbs, where he can really feel how proud Gibbs is of him. he already knows it, but it means a lot to him to actually hear it. McGee gets another text.

"The team wants to come and see you, boss."

"yeah let them come."

"I'll go call them," McGee says. "I'm glad you are okay, Boss." He says right before he leaves the room.


	10. Office gossip

**Bullpen**

"I can't believe Gibbs would do that to Jack," Nick whispers to Ellie as they are sitting in the bullpen waiting for McGee to call and tell them when they can come and visit Gibbs.

"We don't know why Gibbs was at the hotel with Tess Kaufmann," Jimmy argues. Jimmy, Kasie, Nick, and Ellie are all sitting in the bullpen around Ellie's desk.

"But why would Gibbs offer her a ride back to her hotel? That seems a bit hinky to me:" Nick argues. Ellie and Kasie do not like the indications of Nick's arguments about Gibbs's intentions.

"maybe if it was you offering a woman a ride back to her hotel, Nick. But not Gibbs." Ellie argues. "Gibbs is not like that," Ellie says. it sounds more like she is hoping that she is right, then she actually believes it. she wants to believe she s right and that Gibbs wouldn't be unfaithful to Jack. Not that they even know if Gibbs and Jack are actually a thing. Everyone on the team, thinks they are, but Gibbs isn't the one to kiss and tell, so he would never tell them and Jack has been trying to deny everything but Jack has a terrible Pokerface when it comes to hiding her emotions around Gibbs.

"McGee said he didn't want any office gossip, guys," Kasie tells them.

"did McGee tell you what Jack said about the necklace?" Torres asks curiously.

"no." Kasie answers. "and it is none of our business." Kasie reminds him.

"come on. How often do we actually get any information about what is going on in the big boss-mans life, besides what we observe our self?" Nick asks.

"We know what he wants us to know," Jimmy says.

"Yeah, but doesn't it bother you? okay, maybe not you and Kasie, but…" Kaise, Jimmy, and Ellie look confused at Nick. "Bishop, McGee, and I… we put our lives in his hands every time we leave this building to work a case. He knows basically everything about us and we know basically nothing about him. doesn't it bother you, Bishop?"

"no." Bishop answers to big annoyance for Torres. He was hoping at least his partner would have his back in this argument.

"Torres… we might not know much about Gibbs's personal life, but what we do know, and I think I speak for everyone who has ever worked with Gibbs… he always unconditionally has our backs. Both personally and professionally. That is all that matters." Jimmy says and Kasie and Bishop nod in agreement. Torres signs heavily. They look up at the top of the stairs they see Jack and Ducky talking.

"do you think Gibbs is with his high school sweetheart or with Jack?" Torres asks whispering to his colleagues.

"Jack and Gibbs have a pretty special bond, but she has seemed a bit off since this case started and Gibbs has been secretive over the past week or so," Bishop says.

"you think they are splitting up?" Nick asks curiously.

"if they were ever a thing." Kasie states. Nick and Ellie look at Kasie in disbelief.

"oh, they were definitely having a thing," Nick says very confidence. "haven't you noticed how they have been all touchy touchy?" Nick asks with a knowing smile on his face.

"no," Kasie says and almost looks grossed out.

"dude. Come on man." Jimmy says and punches Nick on the upper arm. "why are you looking at things like that?" Jimmy asks also grossed out.

"I am not." nick says defensively when Ellie starts laughing at him. Nick realizes what he said could sound like he is some pervert. "But they are huggee and Jack is all handsy on Gibbs both in MTAC and here in the bullpen. one time I walked into MTAC they were sitting in the back of the room... in the dark... comfy chairs.. . some privacy... holding hands..." Nick says while laughing. both Jimmy and Kasie seems really grossed out. almost like children who just realized their parents had a private life. while Ellie is just laughing at her partner. "have you ever wonder what they are doing in her office so often with the door closed? whenever she is asking Gibbs for a second opinion?" Nick says with a sneaky smile and laughs. the rest of the group doesn't laugh along with him which he was expecting.

"None of your damn business, Torres."

Nick sits up straight with a terrified look on his face the moment he hears her voice.

"she is right behind me, isn't she," Nick asks and slowly turns around to face a very furious Jack, who is standing right behind him.

"Hi Jack," Nick says trying to sound as innocent as possible but all he receives is a furious death-stare from Jack.

"any news from McGee about Gibbs?" Ellie asks trying to ease up the situation.

"yes…" Ducky says, who is standing right next to Jack. "Timothy called and said Jethro want to see us. He is awake and he is okay."

"that is great news, Doctor," Jimmy says and stands up along with Kasie. He had been sitting in McGee's chair.

"let's all go to the hospital and see Jethro," Ducky says and places a hand on Jack's arm. She is still just staring furiously at Nick. Nick is starting to be very uncomfortable with her death-stare.

They all walk to the elevator together. Jack is standing in the back of the elevator together with Ducky. Nick can feel Jack's stare at him while in the elevator. It amuses Ellie and Kasie how uncomfortable he is with the situation.

**At the hospital**

The group arrives at the hospital parking lot. Ellie and Torres were driving together, while Ducky drove with Jack and Kasie and Jimmy shard a ride. As they leave the cars and walk towards the entrance of the hospital Ellie walks over to Jack. She is a bit behind the rest. She seems a bit off.

"Hey, Jack. You okay?" Ellie asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jack says, but Ellie knows that isn't true.

"hey…" Ellie says and places a hand on Jack's forearm to get her attention. They both stop walking. They look at the rest of the group. They aren't stopping and waiting for them. "I apologize for my partner's idiotic comment earlier," Ellie says with an apologetic smile. It generates a small smile on Jack's face.

"Thanks, Ellie. It is okay. I am just a little off right now."

"hey. We are all a little off because of Gibbs getting shot."

"it isn't just that," Jack admits and looks down. "Gibbs and I argued yesterday." Ellie doesn't say anything. She is just going to let Jack say what she wants to say. Ellie isn't going to press the subject even though she's just about to explode of curiosity. "I was going to talk with him about he might be too close to the victim's wife and that he maybe should consider recusing himself from the case."

"he didn't do that?" Ellie says more as a statement then as a question.

"no. he didn't. he called me out on the real reason why I had a problem with him investigating this case."

"The real reason?" Ellie asks, trying intensely to hide her excitement about what she thinks Jack is about to admit to her.

It pains Jack to admit it but she trusts Ellie is going to keep this between them despite the big grin she notice is on Ellies face. "jealousy." A big smile spreads on Ellie's face. She can't hide it. Jack finally admitted, or at least partially admitted to being involved with Gibbs.

"Jack… that is normal." Ellie explains a bit too loud and a bit too excited.

"come on Ellie. He yelled at me and claimed I was questioning his professional judgment." Jack wines.

"were you?"

"kinda," Jack admits. "which just makes it really awful."

"Jack that fact that he got so upset. Just means he actually cares about what you think."

"maybe," Jack says. "I acted like a complete idiot because he canceled our plans last night."

"Why did he cancel?" Ellie asks suddenly very confused.

"I don't know. He wouldn't say."

"that sounds suspicious," Ellie says with a sneaky smile.

"Ellie please stop," Jack asks. Ellie stops smiling when she sees the sincere pleading look in Jack's eyes.

"Okay, Jack Listen…" Ellie says as they start walking again when a car hunk at them. "Gibbs cares about you. he would never do anything to hurt you. whatever reason he had to cancel your plans I'm sure he had a good reason."

"well the fact that he was found shot outside of a hotel room belonging to his high school prom date doesn't exactly seem promising and that he was cough on camera leaving a jewelry store a few minutes prior. Doesn't sound promising either." Jack explains.

"I know, but… that necklace are you sure he didn't get it for you?" Ellie asks. Jack immediately suspect McGee might have told the team what she told him earlier.

"I don't know Ellie," Jack says and looks down at the ground. She has begun to doubt everything about her relationship and friendship with Gibbs over the past 24 hours. "at first when I saw it on the table in the lab yeah I thought so, but… Gibbs canceling, the way he has been around his high school sweetheart since this case began. He won't talk about how close their relationship was in high school. It just starts to seem more and more like it is about her for him."

"Jack…" Ellie says and takes Jack's hand."Gibbs cares about you. talk with him."

"talk with a guy who won't talk about feelings?"

"Okay…" Ellie says reconsidering her advice. "talk to him then. Tell him how you feel."

"Yeah, that went very well yesterday, Ellie," Jack says with a hint of sarcasm.

"you can't avoid the elephant in the room forever," Ellie says with a serious look to Jack. It makes Jack smile at the fact that Ellie unintentionally is using the same metaphor that Jack used to try and convince Gibbs to open up about his feelings for her. Ellie and Jack meet up with the rest of the group at the elevator.

"what took you so long?" Nick asks and looks at Ellie with a smug smile. He is clearly hoping to get some juicy details later from Ellie's conversation with Jack, but Ellie's serious look at Nick reassures Jack that he won't get any details. Jack takes a deep breath before she enters the elevator. She can't avoid seeing Gibbs forever and she is happy to see that he is okay but at the same time, she is terrified of how he is going to react when he sees her again.


	11. Goodbye

**The hospital**

Shortly after McGee leaves the room it knocks on the door again. Gibbs has barely had the time to close his eyes. he could really use some rest before his team arrives.

"you forgot something, Tim?" Gibbs asks. The door is slowly opened, and a familiar face enters the room. Tess Kaufmann asks if she may come in and Gibbs gives her the go-ahead. She walks over to his bedside and sits down on a chair standing next to the bed.

"how are doing Tess?" Gibbs asks.

"I'm okay." She signs. "I am moving to Texas to be closer to my brother. I got a new job there. I wasn't going to take it, but this seems like a good time to make a new beginning."

Gibbs agrees with her. he is glad to see she is okay. "I just stopped by to say thank you and to see that you were okay."

"I am fine. Jimmy was a bad shooter." Gibbs jokes. "he was always a bad puncher too." They both start laughing.

"you beat him up pretty good right before prom. You never told me why."

"Nah… It isn't imported, Tess. It was a long time ago. He was a jerk in high school. He probably forgot all about it afterward." Gibbs says. even though he has a pretty good idea about that Jimmy Boyd never forgot about Gibbs busting up his face right before senior prom. Tess looks over at the jewelry box sitting on the table next to Gibbs's bed.

"May I?" she asks. Gibbs nods. Tess takes the jewelry and gently opens it.

"It is beautiful." She says out loud. She usually doesn't speak out loud. Not since high school where she was often laughed at or otherwise made fun of which was often the reason Gibbs got into fights. But Tess always felt comfortable speaking out loud to Gibbs. He always respected her. he even spoke sign with her, which very few people in her life did before she left Stillwater.

"whoever this is for is going to love it and it can never be erased that it was this necklace that saved your life." She says and gently closes the box again and places it back on the table.

"could you hand it to me?" he asks. She hands it to him, and he puts it under his cover. Tess looks confused at him but doesn't comment on it. She just has a knowing smile on her face. Gibbs looks up at Tess. She has a necklace that he didn't notice earlier. Tess notices he is looking at it and takes the little heart in between her fingers.

"my husband and Pam gave it to me for Mother's Day when Pam was 5 years old. They went to a jewelry store and she picked it. I always wear it when my husband isn't home." Tess explains and has a sad look in her eyes.

"it is beautiful. Your husband died protecting you and Pam. Remember that." He says and takes her hand in his. She nods.

"thank you."

"give me a call every once in a while, Tess." Tess nods and then walks towards the door. she is still holding the little heart of her necklace in between her fingers. As she is approaching the door, the door is opened and Jack is stepping in, but she stops in the door when she sees Tess is there.

"Hi Jack," Gibbs says with a smile.

"Tell your brother I said hi," Gibbs says to Tess.

"I will." She says out loud and then leaves the room. Jack looks back after her.

"Hi, Jack," Gibbs repeats and notices Jack is looking after Tess. Jack then closes the door and is about to walk over to Gibbs, but she doesn't move. Instead, she looks around in the room, like she is searching for something she expects to be there, but she can't seem to find it.

"you are looking for something, Jack?" he asks. He knows what she is probably expecting to see, and it amuses him a bit to see her confused reaction.


	12. unexplained buisness

Jack walks into the room, quickly followed by Torres, McGee, Bishop, Jimmy, Kasie, and Ducky.

"How are you, Jethro?" Ducky quickly asks and looks at the monitors.

"I'm fine Duck… I'll live." Gibbs simply replies.

"We found out the motive, Gibbs," Ellie informs. "I guess you already know who the shooter was."

"yes, it was Jimmy Boyd. Tess's high school dirtbag boyfriend." Gibbs adjusts himself to sit up but he is clearly in pain. Jack assists him with adjusting the pillow under his head.

"he couldn't handle rejection. He was bragging to his old football buddies about taking his high school girlfriend to the reunion next week. He was bragging about how she is a lawyer now." Torres informs Gibbs.

"Tess would never go with him," Gibbs says.

"exactly why he went after her husband. To persuade her." Ellie says.

Torres continues "He just didn't intend to kill commander Kaufmann."

"the gun had a loose tricker," Kasie adds.

"so all of this was because some guy couldn't handle being rejected by his high school sweetheart?" Ducky asks in disbelieve.

"Not just any guy," Gibbs says. everyone looks over at Gibbs.

"The reason why he broke up with Tess right before prom was because he couldn't be a prom king with a smart but deaf girlfriend. He needed a pretty dum girl as his prom queen. He always talked bad about Tess and humiliated her behind her back to his buddies. He made fun of her when she spoke out loud. He was tormenting her. telling her she should be thankful that he wanted to date her because no one else would. He talked about their relationship like it was community service."

"I know I shouldn't talk ill of the dead, but I really feeling punching that guy right now," Jimmy says.

"yeah get in line," Nick says.

"I think we saw the handiwork young Gibbs doing that at Boyds prom photo," Jack says with a smile looking over at Gibbs. Gibbs has a bit of a shy sideways smile on his face.

"I think that smile is as good as a confession," Ducky says smiling at Gibbs.

"no wonder she didn't want to relive her high school relationship at the reunion with this guy," Kasie says. everyone nods in agreement.

"I just can't believe there are guys who think that people with handicap can't be in a relationship," McGee says.

"well, McGee… some see the handicap before the person. Others like… you and I… choose to the person instead of the handicap." Gibbs says. McGee nods.

"Yeah. It just makes me really angry. Commander Kaufmann was killed and Pam is going to grow up without a father just because this guy couldn't handle rejection from a girl he tormented in high school." McGee says.

"I don't think he saw it as torment, McGee," Jack says. everyone is looking shocked at Jack.

"Jack, are you seriously defending this guy?" McGee asks.

"no. I am not. I am just trying to understand the world of Jimmy Boyd."

"I'm not sure I want to understand that world," Kasie says and Jimmy seems to agree.

"he is a narcissist. He only sees his own needs. He needed a smart girlfriend to get him through high school. But he also needed to keep up his reputation as the football quarterback and the cool guy. He only focusses on what he needs right now right here. He is like a chess player. He moves people around manipulate people around him to get what he wants. He cant handle rejection. So when Tess wouldn't do as he said, as she did in high school. He needed to do something to get her to go with him." Jack explains.

"Okay, so what was his plan? Go with me to the reunion or ill kill your husband?" Jimmy asks sarcastically.

"basically year. Probably scare her to do what he wanted. The gun was only there to scare not to kill. The commander's death was an accident." Jack explains.

"so why go after Tess and her daughter and why shoot Gibbs?" Torres asks.

"I don't think shooting Gibbs was intended either," McGee says. everyone looks confused at McGee so he continues his theory. "Gibbs's instinct is seeing a gun pulls his weapon. Trained agent instinct. The guy shot the first shot and hit Gibbs's shoulder, probably because Gibbs moved and drew his weapon and turned to face Jimmy Boyd. If Gibbs had stayed with his side to the shooter the bullet would have gone right past Gibbs and into the wall." McGee explains.

"I moved right into the line of the bullet," Gibbs says and McGee nods.

"I fell to the ground. He shot again. I was hit but not unconscious. My reaction was slowed down by the pain from the 2 bullets." Gibbs recalls.

"yes but not slow enough to you not to react with instinct when Boyd pointed his gun at Tess Kaufmann," McGee says.

"Yeah…You still shot the man with Sniper-Gibbs precision." Jimmy adds.

"There is no such thing as Sniper-Gibbs precision, Dr. Palmer," Ducky says and looks over at Gibbs with a little apologetic smile.

"the man was shot with half an inch of precision. The man was dead before he hit the ground." Jimmy insists.

"I would call that sniper-Gibbs precision," Jack says and the agents nods in agreement. "I don't know many agents who can shoot with such precision after being shot twice, Ducky," Jack adds and looks over at Gibbs with a smile. The glance between Jack and Gibbs doesn't go unnoticed by the rest of the team, but no one says anything.

"so hmm… Gibbs, are you going to your high school reunion next week?" Torres asks after a few moments of awkward silence, where no one knows what to say. Gibbs just looks over at Torres with his death-stare.

"I take that as a no," Torres says and looks away from Gibbs's death-stare and everyone else starts laughing.

"so if Tess's boyfriend dumped her to go to the prom with some cheerleader, who did Tess go with to the prom?" Kasie asks out of curiosity.

"me," Gibbs says.

"what about Shannon? I would think you would go with Shannon boss?" McGee asks bewildered.

"I didn't know Shannon back then. Not until after graduation. Tess told me that Jimmy had dumped her to go with the head cheerleader. I wasn't going to go to the prom. I was leaving a week later to join the marine core so I didn't plan on going to prom. Tess had been talking about senior prom since we started high school. It was her biggest dream. A night where she was like any other girl at school. Dancing with her boyfriend prom date and wearing a nice dress, just like anyone else." Gibbs explains.

"Jimmy ruined for her," Kasie says sad thinking about it.

"Yeah. He even made jokes about it to the rest of the football team in the gym locker. How he broke her dream."

"That was why you busted his face?" Jimmy asks even though he has a pretty good idea that is exactly why Jimmy had a busted face on his prom photo.

"you went with your friend because she wanted to go?" McGee asks. Gibbs just simply nods.

"just a friend doing a friend a favor?" Kasie says and looks over at Jimmy. He leans an arm around her shoulder. Torres does the same to Ellie. A lot of close friendships in this room right now. Gibbs reaches over and takes Jack's hand.

"That is really awesome, boss." McGee says. "you know that case many years ago when you, me and Ziva went to Stillwater to investigate a marines death. We were met by the sheriff and he said you were a troublemaker back then. I am starting to think it might have been for a good cause."

"Don't be delusional Tim. Not all the fights where justified. Many… but not all." Everyone starts laughing. No one doubts that Gibbs has always been a fighter, and most of the fights in his life has been for a good cost, but no one can doubt that he has always been a good friend and protected the people he cares about.


	13. An amazing friend

**note: this is the last chapter of this story. I hope you enjoyed reading it :) stay tuned for more stories :) and please leave a comment on your thoughts**

The team stays for a while. There are small chattering and a light mood. Gibbs is going to be okay and the case is solved. Tess and her daughter are safe and everything is going to be okay for the time. Except Jack still has a really nagging feeling in her stomach. She feels really bad about the fight she had with Gibbs yesterday. They yelled at each other then Gibbs got shot and the last thing she would have said to him if he had died would have been words of anger. Ducky notices that Jack seems a bit off despite the light mood in the room.

"Are you alright, Jaquelin?" Ducky asks. She looks distantly out of the window but is snapped back to reality by the feeling of Ducky's hand on her hand.

"yes, Ducky." She forces a little smile on her lips. "I am fine."

"well it seems like it is time for us to say our goodbyes," Ducky says and they both look over at Gibbs who has his eyes closed. He seems tired. Almost asleep.

McGee left earlier. He needed to go pick up the twins from preschool on his way home and Jimmy had to go home to Victoria and Breena. Torres and Bishop were sitting on the other side of the room. Nick is leaned back in an armchair eating Gibbs green jello that the cute nurse had come with earlier. Torres hadn't missed a chance to hit on her, for which he had received an angry stare from Ellie. Kasie has been sitting near Ellie and has been chatting with Ellie about their time in high school. Nick had been busy asking everyone what type of high school kid they were. He hadn't said much about what type he was and he hadn't gotten anything but a death-stare from Gibbs. Ducky had gladly shared some memories of his time in high school and so had Jimmy. Jack, Ellie, and Kasie weren't much to share too much about their high school time, but Torres was very interested in Jack's life in California especially when she mentioned beach parties. But Gibbs had cut Torres off when he had asked too many to intimate question especially about Jack's fellow female students and everyone had just laughed ad Nick looing disappointed when he didn't get enough details to his satisfaction.

"yeah…" Jack agrees.

Nick, Ellie, and Kasie start to gather their stuff along with Ducky and Jack.

"you got any plans, Jack?" Ellie asks trying to cheer her friend up.

"no. no really."

your phone has been going off like crazy all day." Ellie points out.

"I know. Nothing important." Jack says with a nonchalant shrug.

"Okay." Ellie and Nick say looking at each other. They clearly don't believe Jack, but they are letting it go for now. They all 5 walks towards the door.

"good night Gibbs." Ellie, Nick, and Kasie say.

"Goodnight Jethro. Get some rest. I will be in here to check on you tomorrow morning." Ducky informs.

"Jack," Gibbs says drowsily. He still has his eyes closed.

"you need something?" she asks as she is standing in the door about to leave, the others are waiting right outside the door. "please stay and close the door," he asks. He never opens his eyes as he speaks.

Jack looks back at Ducky, Torres, Ellie, and Kasie. "I'll see ya tomorrow." She says and then closes the door behind her. she walks over to the other side of the bed. She is just standing there waiting for him to open his eyes or to speak.

"you don't have any plans tonight?" he asks and opens his eyes and looks up at her.

"no. they got canceled by a bullet last night." She says.

"what about with the team? Why didn't you accept Ellie's offer?" he asks. He reaches his hand out from under the cover and takes her hand in his. She sits down on the chair next to the bed. He is rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. It always calms her down.

"I didn't feel like going out tonight. Not with you laying here."

"you should be out celebrating. Not being in a hospital."

She signs heavily. "I want to be here with you. if you want me to leave. Just say it." she says and little irritated and is about to stand up and pull her hand away from his.

"I want you here if you want to be here. I don't want to force you," he says honestly. She can see in his eyes that he means every word he says. she signs in relief and sits back down.

"I want to be with you," she admits. "it doesn't matter where."

She feels he pulls her hand in under the cover. She looks suspicious of him. he just has a corky sideways smile on his face. she gets surprised when she feels something is slide into her hand. He looks up at her. "happy birthday, Jack." Is all he says. she takes her hand out that he had let go of now. She opens the box that he slid into her hand under the cover. It is the beautiful necklace that she saw in Kasies lab earlier. It looks just like her grandmother's from when she was a kid.

"I thought you didn't know it was my birthday." She says stunned.

"How could I not?" he simply asks. "I overheard you saying very persistent on the phone last week that you didn't have any plans for tonight. It made me wonder why tonight was to especially important. So I looked it up."

"you investigated med?" Jack asks with a questioning look. It makes Gibbs smile and he nods.

"That was why you asked me out for dinner tonight instead of our usual cowboy steak at your place?" she asks with a smile. She has figured him out now. He nods.

"I thought we should do something more special. Sorry, it got messed up by a bullet." He says referring to his injured shoulder.

"I like steaks at your house though. But thanks, Gibbs." She says and leans down and kisses him passionately.

"you like it?" he asks with a smile once they break the kiss.

"I love it." she simply says and kisses him again. She stands up again and she takes the necklace out of the box and puts it on and then places the box back on the table. She looks down at it and admires it.

"you do… my grandmother gave a necklace like this to my grandmother as a promise of marriage after they both got back from deployment." She says with a joking smile.

"No promises here." He says and throws his hands up in defense and they both start laughing.

"fair enough." She laughs and looks down at it again. "I love it."

"it isn't just a necklace like your grandmothers. I traced it back to your grandmother. The women who own the antic store immigrated from Germany in 1947. She told me she got that necklace from an army nurse who treated her at an American army base in Germany in 1945 when she was rescued by an American soldier, army lieutenant 1. Class Jack Sloane." Gibbs says with anticipation. He loves Jack's reaction of surprise and happiness.

"my grandfather's name was Jack." Gibbs nods. "I know."

"I told my unit, the wingoes about my grandfather, Jack Sloane, that he was an army lieutenant 1. Class, and after that, they started calling me Jack, and that has been my preferred name since." Gibbs he loves hearing Jack talk about the happy times from her time in the army. It doesn't happen often, but when she shares some of her happy memories about her army-time she always has that little sparkle of joy in her eyes. Gibbs has really come to love that sparkle in her eyes. Jack sits down on her chair again. She is reaching over and holding his hand. Her facial expression changes.s he looks at their hands for a moment, while she is trying to choose the right words. Then she looks over at him. at first, she doesn't say anything. The moment she is looking into his soft loving sweet blue eyes she loses her nerves.

"Jack… speak." He orders and that makes her chuckle and it lightens the mood.

"I'm sorry Gibbs."

"never say you are sorry. It is a sign of weakness."

"Yeah, I know. But I feel really bad about what I said to you yesterday. Our fight yesterday."

"Why?" he simply asks. She looks at him confused. "I thought you enjoyed a good fight." He says with a big teasing smile. That was what she said to him when they first started to work together. She starts laughing too.

"yeah I do and so do you, but… I don't like that kind of fight. I was wrong. I accused you of being unprofessional, and you are not. I should have trusted your judgment. She is your friend and what you did for her back then and over the past few days here actually just reminds me why I really love having you in my life." He looks a little bewildered at her so she elaborates. "you are an amazing man and an amazing friend, Gibbs." she leans down and kisses him passionately.


End file.
